A perfect modern country house in Norfolk designed by Veere Grenney

Imagine that you are exploring Norfolk and - with a guidebook in hand - arrive at one of the county's particularly fine churches. The door is locked, but you admire the perpendicular architecture and decide to stroll through the small hamlet that is clustered around it. Irresistibly drawn down a promising lane, you come to a pair of slender, wrought-iron gates, which open to reveal an avenue of ancient lime trees leading to a squarely pleasing early-eighteenth-century house, nine bays wide, with an intriguing glimpse of a much earlier range of building bordered by a moat.

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At this point your imaginary trespass must stop, but instead put yourself into the shoes of a couple who are looking for a property in this part of the world. They have outgrown their previous home, and their extended family - with ages ranging from twenty something to four years old - are ready to expand into a house that will allow them to entertain, give large parties, develop the garden, stable their horses and generally enjoy country life in this beautiful part of England.

With estate agent's particulars in hand, the couple approach through the lime avenue and find that the mellow red-brick building sits on the rim of parkland with uninterrupted views across a lake to vistas of fields and woodland beyond. It is perfect. But nothing can be that perfect, can it? Surely the house will be riddled with dry rot and the moat will leak and the Tudor wing will be on the point of collapse and the roof will need replacing, as will the wiring and the central heating. But no, the previous owners had restored the fabric of the house impeccably, so nothing structural needed to be done. As a bonus, the renowned designer Xa Tollemache had laid out the garden. A perfect country house in perfect condition - how rare is that?

Here was a blank canvas for the new owners to fill with possessions and make their own. To decorate a house of this size requires vision, a master plan and a highly experienced team with access to many skills, resources and trades. The new owners had a vision and they called on interior decorator Veere Grenney to make it a reality. Veere was the obvious choice for them because he was a family friend, so they knew he would interpret their vision of an interior that would respect the architecture of the rooms yet reflect their relaxed and hospitable way of life. As is so often the case, one of the couple leant towards a modern and even slightly edgy aesthetic, while the other embraced a more traditional approach. It is testament to Veere's mastery of his brief that the end result blends both inclinations into a seamless whole.

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This is perhaps best observed in the drawing room, where generous squashy sofas, a club fender embracing the marble fireplace, Arts & Crafts 'Thebes' stools and a beautiful lacquer screen sit alongside an airy sculpture by Richard Fox, an angular chandelier by Cox London and some of the owners' ever-growing collection of contemporary pictures.

The dining room is designed to be able to host large gatherings; the specially commissioned table will expand to seat 24, but the slightly austere aspect of the room is softened by the cherry-red set of chairs and the rush matting underfoot.

Another long table can be found in the conservatory, which links the Georgian part of the house to the Tudor wing. This 'Waste Table' in plywood was made by Piet Hein Eek and is surrounded by Hans J Wegner 'Wishbone' chairs. Above it, hanging from an oculus in the ceiling, is a Charles Saunders 'Oak Leaf' chandelier, which could be an armful of foliage blown in from the park.